Edgestream Partners L.P. Takes Position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA)

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 21,782 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,359,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Natera by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Natera in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Natera in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Natera during the second quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Natera during the first quarter worth about $83,000. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Natera news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total transaction of $4,053,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,351 shares in the company, valued at $23,063,243.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 549 shares of Natera stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.16, for a total transaction of $57,732.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 113,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,950,066.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.10, for a total transaction of $4,053,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,351 shares in the company, valued at $23,063,243.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,197 shares of company stock worth $9,561,358 in the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NTRA shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Natera in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Natera from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natera currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.07.

Natera Stock Performance

Shares of NTRA stock opened at $127.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.14, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.89. The company has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.74 and a beta of 1.53. Natera, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.90 and a 12-month high of $132.01.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.39. Natera had a negative return on equity of 36.74% and a negative net margin of 21.47%. The firm had revenue of $413.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.97) earnings per share. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Natera, Inc. will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Natera Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.